Safety closure

ABSTRACT

A safety closure or top for screw-type containers is provided with one or more beads, or inwardly extending ridges, to engage the bottom of the threads on the bottle, and, in certain cases to seat below a bead, or outwardly extending ridge on the bottle. To remove the top, flexible sidewalls of the top are pressed inwardly and normally disengaged bumps or partial threads on the inner side walls of the top are engaged with the threads of the bottle and the top is turned off, with the engaged threads providing the force to overcome the restraint of the bead or beads.

[4 1 Feb. 19, 1974 tinted States Patent Rose [ SAFETY CLOSURE [76]Inventor: Alan C. Rose, 5030 Calvin Ave.,

Tarzana, Calif. 91356 [22] Filed: Aug. 9, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 279,279

[52] US. Cl. 215/9, 215/46 R [51] Int. Cl. ..A61jl/00 [58] Field ofSearch 215/9, 43, 44, 41, 46 R [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,450,289 6/1969 Esposito, Jr. 215/9 3,468,444 9/1969 Martin,Jr. 215/9 Primary Examiner-George T. Hall [57] ABSTRACT A safety closureor top for screw-type containers is provided with one or more beads, orinwardly extending ridges, to engage the bottom of the threads on thebottle, and, in certain cases to seat below a bead, or outwardlyextending ridge on the bottle. To remove the top, flexible sidewalls ofthe top are pressed inwardly and normally disengaged bumps or partialthreads on the inner side walls of the top are engaged with the threadsof the bottle and the top is turned off, with the engaged threadsproviding the force to overcome the restraint of the bead or beads.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SAFETY CLOSURE This invention relates tosafety closures or tops.

In order to avoid poisoning young children, a variety of safety closureshave been proposed heretofore. These include tops having an inner and anouter part, with the inner part sealing and the outer part freelyrotating until interlocked with the inner sealing part of the top by onemeans or another. Other special tops requiring a specially constructedmating bottle are also known. These include the Palm and Turn bottle ofU.S. Pat. No. 3,344,942, for example.

In the case of the double top safety closures, the cost of two tops isexcessive. In the case of other safety closure systems, the requirementthat the container be specially constructed makes for increased expense,as the common screw thread equipped bottle or other container cannot beused.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to makeone-piece safety tops which can be used with simple conventional screwthreaded containers.

This object is achieved, in accordance with the present invention, bymaking a safety top having one or more circular beads which engage thebottom of the threads on the container, and, in some instances, anadditional mating bead on the container. The top is made of bendable orsemi-rigid material, and is further provided with bulged out portionsbetween the sealing top and the bead or beads. On the inner surfaces ofthe bulged out portions are bumps or segments of a screw thread,extending inwardly, but normally disengaged from the container threads.

If desired, the top may have a central portion which is oval incross-section, with the bulged out portions carrying the thread engagingbumps or thread segments located at the ends of the oval, with thesmooth portions of the top engaging the sides of the thread on thecontainer.

One principle which is involved in the present design is that the ovalshape simulates a handle for turning the top while pressure is appliedacross the shorter (smooth) portion of the oval. This tendency willprovide safety against opening by young children who do not know theinner construction of the closure. On the other hand, adults, who canread instructions on the bottle, will press in at the bulged outportions, engage the threads, and open the closure.

The closures are preferably of opaque or translucent material ratherthan transparent material, to avoid disclosure of the inner constructionof the cap.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from a consideration of the following detailed description andfrom the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a bottle provided with a safety closure;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are various views of the closure shown assembled to abottle in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 shows a modified illustrative form of the closure of theinvention.

With reference to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a bottle 7 provided with asafety closure 9. The bottle is provided with threads 13 in the usualmanner.

The cap 9, as shown both assembled in FIG. 1 and by itself in FIGS. 2through 4, includes a sealing top 15, sidewalls 17, 19 which may begenerally oval in crosssection, and an inwardly extending substantiallycircular rim 21 at the lower edge of the sidewalls. The rim 21 may havea bevelled lower surface 23 (see FIG. 2), and an upper surface 25extending genrally perpendicular to the axis of the cap and the bottleto resist normal removal of the cap over the threads 13.

The sidewalls 17 are smooth and normally engage the threads 13 of thebottle. Walls 17 are spaced closer together than the sidewalls l9, andthe latter are normally bowed or bulged outwardly away from the threads13. The outwardly bowed walls 19 are also provided with inwardlyextending partial threads, or bumps 27 positioned at the same height asthe threads 13, but normally disengaged from them.

When a child tries to take the cap off the bottle, the upper surface 25of the lip 21 engages the lower edges of the threads and preventsremoval. Hwever, when an adult, after reading instructions printed onthe bottle, presses in on bendable walls 19, and engages the bumps orpartial internal threads 27 with the external threads 13 on the bottle,the cap is readily removed by simultaneously turning the cap, thusstarting the bead 21 over the threads 13. Of course, once the bead isdepressed in one region around its periphery, further turning willremove the cap.

The bevelled edge 23 of the retaining bead 21 is to facilitate recappingof the bottle.

The cap 9 may be provided with an integral sealing plug 29 on the innersurface of the top 15 to insure against fluid leakage, if desired.

The bottle cap may be made of any suitable semirigid or semi-bendablematerial such as polypropylene, Teflon, or the like, with polypropylenebeing preferred because of its relatively low cost.

Many standard bottles are provided with a circumferential ridge 31 ofthe type shown on bottle 33 in FIG. 5.

The top 9' of FIG. 5 is similar in most respects to the top 9 of FIGS; 1through 4 but is modified to provide additional security againstremoval, by the addition of the lower bead 35 which engages the ridge31. The bead 35 may be provided with a chamfer 37 for ease in recapping.

The bead 35 may be interrupted in two places, as indicated at 39, sothat, when the walls 19 are pressed inward to engage the partial threadsor bumps 27 with the threads 13 on the bottle, the cap tilts about theintermediate bead 21, and loosens the grip of bead 35 on the rim 31 ofthe bottle 33 of FIG. 5.

It is to be understood that minor variations of design are within thescope of the invention. Thus, by way of example but not of limitation,the cap could be slit vertically, either partially or completely, oneither side of partial threads 27, to increase flexibility, where theflexibility and thickness of the material of the cap makes thisdesirable, and similarly the lower bead 21 of the cap of FIGS. 1 through4 could be partially cut to facilitate removal.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety closure for threaded containers comprising:

a sealing top portion;

means including a lower inwardly extending bead for engaging thethreaded container below the threads for preventing removal of theclosure;

bendable sidewalls interconnecting said top portion and said bead; and

means including protrusions on the inner surfaces of said sidewalls,normally spaced outwardly from the threads on said container, forselectively engaging said threads and providing longitudinal force toremove said closure from said container when said bendable sidewalls aresqueezed in the vicinity of said protrusions to engage said protrusionswith the threads, and said cap is rotated.

2. A safety closure as defined in claim l wherein said sidewalls of saidclosure are generally oval in crosssection, and wherein said protrusionsare located on the portion of said sidewalls which are spaced farthestfrom the threads of the threaded container.

3. A safety closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said protrusions arepartial threads complementing those of the container.

4. A safety closure as defined in claim I wherein said closure isprovided with an additional inwardly directed bead to engage aperipheral ridge on the container.

5. A safety closure as defined in claim 4 wherein said additional beadis interrupted to facilitate removal of said closure.

6. A safety closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said closure is madeof bendable plastic material.

7. A safety closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said bead is providedwith a bevelled lower surface to facilitate recapping of the container.

8. A safety closure as defined in claim? wherein said cap has a greaterlateral dimension in one direction than another, whereby the sidewallsof said cap are located different distances from the threads of thecontainer, and wherein said protrusions are located on sidewalls of saidclosure spaced away from the container threads.

1. A safety closure for threaded containers comprising: a sealing topportion; means including a lower inwardly extending bead for engagingthe threaded container below the threads for preventing removal of theclosure; bendable sidewalls interconnecting said top portion and saidbead; and means including protrusions on the inner surfaces of saidsidewalls, normally spaced outwardly from the threads on said container,for selectively engaging said threads and providing longitudinal forceto remove said closure from said container when said bendable sidewallsare squeezed in the vicinity of said protrusions to engage saidprotrusions with the threads, and said cap is rotated.
 2. A safetyclosure as defined in claim 1 wherein said sidewalls of said closure aregenerally oval in cross-section, and wherein said protrusions arelocated on the portion of said sidewalls which are spaced farthesT fromthe threads of the threaded container.
 3. A safety closure as defined inclaim 1 wherein said protrusions are partial threads complementing thoseof the container.
 4. A safety closure as defined in claim 1 wherein saidclosure is provided with an additional inwardly directed bead to engagea peripheral ridge on the container.
 5. A safety closure as defined inclaim 4 wherein said additional bead is interrupted to facilitateremoval of said closure.
 6. A safety closure as defined in claim 1wherein said closure is made of bendable plastic material.
 7. A safetyclosure as defined in claim 1 wherein said bead is provided with abevelled lower surface to facilitate recapping of the container.
 8. Asafety closure as defined in claim 1 wherein said cap has a greaterlateral dimension in one direction than another, whereby the sidewallsof said cap are located different distances from the threads of thecontainer, and wherein said protrusions are located on sidewalls of saidclosure spaced away from the container threads.